Scottish National Party sees red as plans for free personal care for the elderly in Scotland are put on hold
Free personal care for the elderly, scheduled to be introduced in Scotland this April has now been postponed until the summer. The decision has been condemned by the Scottish National Party who believe it is failing the elderly in Scotland.
Nicola Sturgeon, spokesperson for the Scottish National Party (SNP), said: 'The delay in implementing free personal care is a betrayal of elderly Scots. Labour has repeatedly put obstacle after obstacle in the way of free personal care and had to be dragged kicking and screaming into agreeing to implement it. They seem determined to undermine the democratic will of Parliament and leave elderly Scots in limbo.'
She added: 'Free personal care is the democratic will of Scotland, and no matter what London says or what Labour ministers say, it must happen. They should stop playing politics with the lives of the elderly and get on with the job of delivering free personal care.
'London Labour has attempted to punish elderly Scots for having the temerity to win free personal care and torpedo the plans by withholding more than £20m rightfully due to the Scottish budget. There are consistent reports that some Ministers are looking for a way to ditch the plans and now we hear that the Executive is to delay implementation.'
Despite the delay Philip Spiers, an IFA at The Nursing Homes Fees Agency, said demand for the UK Government to pay for personal care will increase. 'There is still pressure on the UK Government to pay for personal cover, but I don't think it will go that way.'
He also has concerns about the implementation of free personal care in Scotland: 'One of my concerns is that the Government has said that nursing care charges will not affect eligibility for attendance allowance, but the introduction of free personal care in Scotland could affect this,' he said.
Chris Ellicott, technical manager at Age Concern Financial Partnerships, agreed: 'In Scotland, people get attendance allowance, which is not means-tested, but I'm not sure whether this will still be possible in the future.'
